Carbon dioxide (“CO2”) produced in power generation facilities and the like generally is considered to be greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide emissions thus may be subject to increasingly strict governmental regulations. As such, the carbon dioxide produced in the overall power generation process preferably may be sequestered and/or recycled for other purposes as opposed to being emitted into the atmosphere or otherwise disposed.
Many new power generation facilities may be natural gas fired gas turbine combined cycle (“NGCC”) power plants. Such NGCC power plants generally may emit lower quantities of carbon dioxide per megawatt hour as compared to coal fired power plants. This improvement in emissions generally may be due to a lower percentage of carbon in the fuel and also to higher efficiencies attainable in combined cycle power plants.
Moreover, NGCC power plants also may capture and store at least a portion of the carbon dioxide produced therein. Such capture and storage procedures, however, may involve parasitic power drains. For example, steam may be required to separate the carbon dioxide in an amine plant and the like while power may be required to compress the carbon dioxide for storage and other uses. As in any type of power generation facility, these parasitical power drains may reduce the net generation output. Plant efficiency thus may be lost in a NGCC power plant and the like with known carbon dioxide capture, compression, and storage systems and techniques.
There thus may be a desire for improved power generation systems and methods for driving carbon dioxide compression equipment and other types of power plant equipment with a reduced parasitic load. Such a reduced parasitic load also should increase the net power generation output of a NGCC power plant and the like with continued low carbon dioxide emissions.